Recent content by TheRatmeister

70s is correct, this is from one of the "Stop de Kindermoord" protests of the period with a group of cyclists doing a die-in.

The sun is brutal. It needs way, way, way, way more tree cover to be a good place to hang out.

Also it just makes no sense on its face. If the problem is substations and electrical equipment, BEMUs also need that. If you're worried about the overhead wires, frankly if there's that much flooding there are probably bigger concerns. Maybe in some edge cases it could legitimately be a...

I'd give it greater than 50% odds of breaking ground within 15 years. SCR Phase 2 isn't happening anytime soon and the pressure being put on the South Shore lines is and will stay immense because of that. We already see a load of rich and/or politically connected towns/pols pushing the T to fix...

Back in Boston with a monthly pass so I'm using it to explore the T a bit.

I get the idea but you can hide a lot with good tree cover and shadow planning, it's probably worth at least revisiting height limits in the area.

The parcel between Tufts and the Doubletree was originally going to be the portal where buses would turn out onto Washington Street. The upside is that it's very easy. There's a clear, straight path for an incline and it puts you out right on Washington Street. The downside are that there isn't...

I have to imagine any such line would put the portal in the location reserved for SL Phase 3, not under Eliot Norton park. That avoids any crazy turns like that.

You could also argue though that it's a deliberate misrepresentation of that messy history for the benefit of drivers, or more realistically a mix of both.

Even with bridge modifications I don't see how you're fitting a full-length platform without quite a lot of mining and/or bridge modifications. 400-500ft would likely be doable with only a little mining of the Bell Corner 'park' and modification of the Washington St bridge. If the line is...

It's bad bad. Traveling across Germany by train you should basically count on arriving at least 1 hour late.

It doesn't. There is no world in which using BEMUs for Fairmount Line trips makes sense except one where we somehow get European prices on rolling stock and Caltrain prices on overhead catenary. For BEMUs to be worth it over OLE you generally need three criteria to be met: Distance has to be...

I'd wonder about creating something like a "Massachusetts Development Agency" to act as a property developer and commercial landlord. Such an agency could theoretically issue bonds at lower interest rates to enable development opportunities that are viewed as less attractive by private...

As it should, mine peaks at ~22mph if I go down a hill (or bridge, there aren't many hills here) and I pedal real hard. That's already terrifying if there's anyone else around or anything but a dead straight road with green lights.